A Trap
Upon seeing the selected words, the three of them exchanged glances, seeing boundless shock in each other's eyes!
"Let's go! We need to see Her Majesty!"
***
Inside the imperial palace hall, the Empress sat behind a veil, and Fu Qing, along with the other two, detailed their investigation of Wang Hua and demonstrated their findings before the Empress.
"Your Majesty, this is how Wang Hua has been transmitting national secrets for years!" Zheng Tao said with a pained expression.
The connection between Zhang the Benevolent and Wang Hua had lasted for decades. Tianxuan, being a country with many festivals, saw Wang Hua blatantly sending out messages on these occasions.
The Empress remained silent, almost like a statue, unmoving behind the veil.
Wang Hua, in her mind, was as trustworthy as the three before her. Under his governance, Tianxuan had enjoyed peace and prosperity. If it weren't for the irrefutable evidence, the Empress would never have believed that this revered prime minister was indeed a spy for the enemy nation.
The Empress's silence caused the temperature in the hall to plummet. Despite their martial prowess, Fu Qing, Hua Ge, and Zheng Tao felt a chill.
"Your Majesty, I request we arrest Wang Hua and confront Blue Flame Empire!" Zheng Tao cupped his hands in a formal salute.
"I second that!" Fu Qing echoed the sentiment.
"We cannot! We must not act rashly for now!" Hua Ge, who usually agreed with the others, offered a differing opinion this time.
"Why not?" Zheng Tao was taken aback.
With the evidence so clear, should they let him continue overseeing officials? How much more confidential information would be leaked?
Hua Ge sensed the cold gaze behind the veil also resting on him with curiosity.
He cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, Wang Hua's treason is a capital offence! However, we only have this one piece of evidence, and it wasn't caught in the act. Most importantly, the information he exposed this time isn't even classified."
"Mo Qingkuang's advancement to the Wind Spirit Body isn't classified. After the Falling Leaf Tomb incident, within a day, this news will spread throughout Tianxuan! Moreover, Wang Hua could argue that we're taking things out of context to frame him!"
Hua Ge's words made sense, and everyone quickly calmed down.
Wang Hua was indeed detestable, but with the current evidence, they weren't entirely sure they could topple the image of this venerable prime minister in the eyes of the public!
If Wang Hua were to deny everything, leveraging public opinion, not even Her Majesty could easily take him down.
The court was not like the martial world, where one could act on personal vendettas!
In the court, the most crucial thing was to act justifiably, ensuring an unassailable position.
Rulers govern the people but also rely on them. Losing the people's support could be disastrous.
"Hua Ge, what do you suggest we do?" The Empress's icy voice came through, devoid of anger or killing intent as if they hadn't just reported something that could overthrow the empire.
The three were accustomed to the Empress's demeanour and thought nothing of it.
Hua Ge cupped his hands in a salute and said, "Your Majesty, from the message Zhang conveyed to Wang Hua, it seems the Blue Flame Empire is about to wage war against us!"
"It's not that I'm being pessimistic, but since the War for the Sacred, Tianxuan has not yet recovered. The lack of emperor-level experts has not been filled, and the number of warriors below the emperor level is far from enough to contend with Blue Flame Empire."
When Hua Ge mentioned the War for the Sacred, the temperature in the hall dropped even further. If the three were attentive, they would notice that countless fine frost patterns had appeared on the pillars of the hall.
The sudden drop in temperature caused Hua Ge's words to falter.
Indeed, the Empress's emotions had fluctuated; otherwise, the hall's temperature wouldn't have plummeted so drastically.
"Your...Your Majesty," Hua Ge tentatively called out.
The Empress finally came out of her reverie, slightly retracting her aura, and the hall's temperature began to rise again.
She said calmly, "Continue."
Hearing the mention of the War for the Sacred had reminded her of the true cause behind her father and brothers' demise, as told to her in a dream by Mo Fan, causing her emotions to spiral out of control momentarily.
In the usually emotionally detached Empress, only her father and brothers, who had cared for her since childhood, could influence her feelings in this way.
"Yes," Hua Ge, sensing the temperature change, felt relieved and continued, "The Blue Flame Empire borders the Demon Kingdom, and their soldiers are generally more battle-hardened than ours in Tianxuan. This is crucial. With our higher-level combat power at a disadvantage and insufficient lower-level warriors, if war breaks out, victory would be difficult to achieve."
"However, I estimate that Blue Flame Empire won't launch an attack in the short term! They still need time to marshal their forces and complete their deployments. It's just that Wang Hua, being cunning, has sent information in advance to ensure their preparation and plan his escape."
"Then we must keep an eye on him! We can't let him escape!" Zheng Tao said angrily.
Hua Ge shook his head. "No, no. I believe we shouldn't just monitor him; we should give him even greater authority to show our trust!"
"Why?"
"You must know that the higher he is praised, the harder he falls! Your Majesty, with your unparalleled strength, why not grant Wang Hua some honorary powers to allow him to gain more information?" Hua Ge smiled confidently.
"Wang Hua is about to return to Blue Flame Empire. Before he leaves, he will undoubtedly try to gather significant resources or other important items. Since he's leaving, he won't care about the consequences."
"If that's the case, why don't we facilitate his actions, and when he attempts to escape, we can catch him red-handed? This way, we can silence public dissent and gain the moral high ground in the conflict between Tianxuan and the Blue Flame Empire!"
"We could even use this as leverage to ask the Holy Land to intervene and possibly prevent this war, which we have little chance of winning, or at least gain some benefits!"
Hua Ge's confident and detailed analysis gradually convinced Fu Qing and Zheng Tao.
However, Fu Qing raised one more concern, "If we give him greater authority, won't that allow him to continue gathering intelligence, causing ongoing losses to Tianxuan?"
Hua Ge shook his head with a smile. "No, his authority may be significant, but his capabilities are limited. We can control the information he accesses. Furthermore, it's like setting a trap to catch a wolf. His time is limited. I estimate that within a year at most, Wang Hua will try to leave Tianxuan, and the losses will be minimal."
Fu Qing looked at Zheng Tao and exchanged a glance. "If that's the case, then I agree."
The Golden Generation trio always acted in unison, and Hua Ge's plan had successfully persuaded them, so they naturally supported their brother.
The Empress behind the veil pondered for a moment and said calmly, "Proceed. When the time comes, I will personally capture him!"
"Your Majesty, rest assured, I will plan meticulously to ensure nothing goes wrong," Hua Ge said respectfully.
"Good. Draft an edict, bestowing Wang Hua with ten thousand taels of gold and a thousand bolts of silk, and bestow upon him the title of Chancellor, granting him authority over the realm's affairs."
***
More chapters coming in a few hours~
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